Cleveland rocks
Written by Michael Miller | Editor in Chief | mmiller@toledofreepress.comI would not have believed a DJ could spin ’60s and ’70s R&B vinyl for 90 minutes and play only records I have never heard. My knowledge of the music is not encyclopedic, but it’s deep and wide enough so that DJ Mr. Fishtruck couldn’t possibly play nearly two hours’ worth of jams I did not recognize. But he did, and that was only one of the pleasant surprises experienced March 27 during a tour of the city of my birth, Cleveland.
DJ Mr. Fishtruck — former Toledoan Mark Leddy — owns, with Cindy Barber, the Beachland Ballroom & Tavern, part of Cleveland’s Waterloo Village Model Block Initiative. The concept is to take a less-than-vibrant area and rebuild it by creating an arts and entertainment district. It’s close to what the Warehouse District is doing in Downtown Toledo, but the results have been spectacular.
There’s no questioning the impact Fifth Third Field has made on the Warehouse District, with several restaurants and one or two retailers in its shadow. But the Waterloo model has willed itself into a destination neighborhood, with one major club and several galleries, record stores and a recording studio on its street.
The Beachland Ballroom has been recognized as one of the country’s coolest clubs, and even on a slow and empty Friday afternoon, it lives up to its rep. It contains a tavern and a cavernous ballroom with its own side bar, an overwhelming beer selection and Shoparooni, a vintage clothing and odds-and-ends store. Two bands in a seemingly never-repeating lineup play nearly every night at the Beachland, including national draws such as Glen Tilbrook from Squeeze and such hipster heroes as The White Stripes and The Black Keys.
Barber left the publishing industry on a mission to kick-start the neighborhood, and her efforts are superhuman; she became president of the development corporation to make her vision a reality. If I were a Toledo mayoral candidate, God forbid, I’d be on the phone to Barber to arrange a discussion on Waterloo’s resurrection. I have her number if you’re interested, guys.
Within a few blocks of the Beachland, Blue Arrow and Music Saves offer new and used CDs and records, galleries and novelty stores operate, and Exit Stencil Recordings captures the sounds of such bands as The New Lou Reeds, The Dreadful Yawns and HotChaCha.
The difference in results between the Warehouse District and the Waterloo model should not be dramatic. Both neighborhoods offer radically reduced fees for liquor licenses, tax abatements and help with navigating business planning. But the Waterloo model has two distinct advantages; first, Cleveland supports and funds its efforts, while Toledo hasn’t funded the Warehouse District Association for seven years, according to Toledo Warehouse District Association Executive Director Kathy Steingraber. The other difference is housing geography. While the Warehouse District is in the heart of Downtown, the Waterloo block is a solid 20-minute drive from downtown Cleveland. But unlike the Warehouse District, which is void of single-family homes, Waterloo is surrounded and immersed by them. This gives the area natural foot traffic and a cohesive neighborhood feel that, once experienced, is noticeably absent from the Warehouse District.
The March 27 tour of the Waterloo model was part of a daylong “Find Out Why Cleveland Rocks” tour sponsored by the Convention and Visitors Bureau’s Positively Cleveland program. Lexi Hotchkiss, communications coordinator for the program, helped arrange a 12-stop tour of cultural and economic development locations. Because one of those stops was an advance look at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s Bruce Springsteen exhibit, and because economic development was the theme of the day, I invited along friend and Springsteen buff Chris Kozak, the Columbia Gas of Ohio communications and community relations manager, who serves on the boards of our Regional Growth Partnership and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC). Throughout our few hours on Waterloo Street, Kozak and I repeatedly discussed how such a model could work in Toledo, if not Downtown, maybe near UT.
After our tour of the Waterloo model, Barber accompanied us on visits to Ante Up Studio, another major Cleveland surprise. Housed in a factory a passerby might think was abandoned, Ante Up houses an amazing campus of a recording facility that has housed the work of Dave Matthews Band, Kelly Clarkson, Tori Amos, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and Colbie Caillat. The studio offers homes for analog and digital fans, with a vintage Neve console used by Mutt Lange to record Def Leppard in the ’80s and a state-of-the-art digital studio. The facility covers 20,000 square feet, with plans to expand to include housing facilities for visiting artists.
Kozak and I agreed that as spectacular as it was, it would not be science fiction to envision such a campus in Toledo. We certainly have the empty buildings and space.
It’s often said that Toledo is no New York or Chicago, and should not aspire to be those cities. But Cleveland’s model is far more realistic and attainable. I understand that Cleveland has the Rock Hall as its music hook, but Waterloo has forged an identity independent of the corporate-endorsed music the Hall honors.
The LISC model of one neighborhood at a time is working in Cleveland, and if the New Schools New Neighborhoods (NSNN) initiative profiled here takes hold, it could work here as well.
A cool and thriving arts and entertainment district like Waterloo Street could give those students graduating from NSNN areas a reason to stay and live in Toledo.
Michael S. Miller is editor in chief of Toledo Free Press. Contact him at mmiller@toledofreepress.com.
Interviews with Bootsy Collins and O’Jays co-founder Walter Williams found here.
